Fender's Bass Guitar is right at the top of the market, thanks to its robust, buzz-free sound and excellent playability. It features a classic light wood finish that looks great and a graphite-reinforced neck. It also comes with responsive, lightweight tuning pegs that won't slide out of tune easily, as well as a real high-quality bridge that doesn't buzz.
A pick (or plectrum) produces a more pronounced attack, for speed, or personal preference. Bass with a pick is primarily associated with rock and punk rock, but player in other styles also use them. Jazz bassist Steve Swallow often plays with a pick,[56] while Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters uses one for a heavier tone. Mike Gordon of Phish uses a pick while also incorporating slapping techniques into his playing. Picks can be used with alternating downstrokes and upstrokes, or with all downstrokes for a more consistent attack. The pick is usually held with the index and thumb, with the up-and-down plucking motion supplied by the wrist.
Digital pianos typically use analog sensors for its keyboard action, as opposed to digital sensors of a regular keyboard and synthesizer. These sensors notably works in a similar way to those used in analog joysticks found on video game controllers, in which they the velocity input is converted from the key movement as well, not just the initial pressure of the key sensor.
We all agreed that the keyboard action felt the most like an acoustic piano. It has what Casio calls “tri-sensor scaled hammer action,” which involves the use of three sensors instead of the usual two. This makes the keyboard more responsive with repeated notes because the key doesn’t need to return to its resting position before being struck again. In our testing, this seemed to allow more musicality than just the on/off trigger switch that most synthesizers use. In the transition into the second half of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, for instance, the tri-sensor action will allow you to better control the dynamics of the quickly repeated C-sharp.
Maybe you're looking for something a bit more conspicuous, that you can make into the centerpiece of your music room? If so, you'll want to investigate options like the Yamaha Arius YDP-142 and Suzuki Micro Grand Digital Piano. These advanced instruments sound every bit as gorgeous as they look, and they offer the ability to record your and store your performances to listen again later or even to playback as accompaniments.

Most electric bass guitars use magnetic pickups. The vibrations of the instrument's ferrous metal strings within the magnetic field of the permanent magnets in magnetic pickups produce small variations in the magnetic flux threading the coils of the pickups. This in turn produces small electrical voltages in the coils. Many bass players connect the signal from the bass guitar's pickups to a bass amplifier and loudspeaker using a 1/4" patch cord. These low-level signals are then strengthened by the bass amp's preamplifier electronic circuits, and then amplified with the bass amp's power amplifier and played through one or more speaker(s) in a cabinet.

For young children, parents are often inclined to start with a keyboard because they can be the least expensive. To decide whether or not this course of action is right for a young student, it’s good to have a conversation with that student’s music teacher. Often, music teachers would prefer that a child starts with a digital piano because they are going to have the requisite number of weighted keys and fewer distracting options. When a child learns to play on a keyboard, they may have a harder time adjusting to a digital or traditional piano. Music teachers also have preferences for which digital pianos they think are going to offer the best balance of sound and cost, and their experience with a particular instrument can certainly be helpful as your child learns. For these reasons, it’s always best to talk to a child’s music teacher before making a purchase. If your child has expressed an interest in learning to play the keyboard specifically, less expensive keyboards with fewer features can be a good place to start.
If you’re trying to decide whether to get a digital piano or a keyboard, you should consider what you’re hoping to accomplish. As has been said, digital pianos are a great option for anyone who is just starting to learn to play the piano or for those who play a traditional piano but would like another option that is more convenient. If, on the other hand, you’re looking to play the keyboard and take full advantage of all of the various options that they have, then a digital piano would likely not be as useful for you.
The string can be plucked (or picked) at any point between the bridge and the point where the fretting hand is holding down the string on the fingerboard; different timbres (tones) are produced depending on where along the string it is plucked. When plucked closer to the bridge, the string's harmonics are more pronounced, giving a brighter tone. Closer to the middle of the string, these harmonics are less pronounced, giving a more mellow, darker tone.
Several colleges offer electric bass training in the US. The Bass Institute of Technology (BIT) in Los Angeles was founded in 1978, as part of the Musician's Institute. Chuck Rainey (electric bassist for Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye) was BIT's first director. BIT was one of the earliest professional training program for electric bassists. The program teaches a range of modern styles, including funk, rock, jazz, Latin, and R&B.

Bass bodies are typically made of wood, although other materials such as graphite (for example, some of the Steinberger designs) and other lightweight composite materials have also been used. While a wide variety of woods are suitable for use in the body, neck, and fretboard of the bass guitar, the most common types of wood used are similar to those used for electric guitars; alder, ash or mahogany for the body, maple for the neck, and rosewood or ebony for the fretboard. While these traditional standards are most common, for tonal or aesthetic reasons luthiers more commonly experiment with different tonewoods on basses than with electric guitars (though this is changing), and rarer woods like walnut and figured maple, as well as exotic woods like bubinga, wenge, koa, and purpleheart, are often used as accent woods in the neck or on the face of mid- to high-priced production basses and on custom-made and boutique instruments.

The second biggest factor that affects drum sound is head tension against the shell. When the hoop is placed around the drum head and shell and tightened down with tension rods, the tension of the head can be adjusted. When the tension is increased, the amplitude of the sound is reduced and the frequency is increased, making the pitch higher and the volume lower.
One of the main things to consider when looking at a 4-string bass (and every bass for that matter) is the material used to make its body. Bass guitars are traditionally made of different varieties of wood and feature a solid, hard-bodied design. Alder is a favorite amongst musicians because it produces a clear, full-bodied sound. For warmer, smoother tones, a mahogany bass might be the one for you. Another aspect to look into is a fretted or fretless electric bass guitar. On a fretted bass, the frets divide the fingerboard into semi tone divisions. These models make learning the bass easier because you have a guide for finger placement. Fretless basses offer a different sound because without frets the strings are directly pressed into the wood of the neck. This produces a softer sound because the string is in direct contact with the musician's finger and also allows you to slide up and down the neck with ease. The electric bass guitar is said to be the cornerstone of the band. It establishes the beat and brings a booming, punchy sound to the music. From Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Paul McCartney of the Beatles, musicians have been playing the bass for decades in modern, mainstream music groups. No matter what skill level you're at right now, these is certainly an electric bass guitar that will meet and exceed all your sound and style needs.
Most bass players stand while playing, using a strap over the shoulder to hold the instrument, although sitting is also accepted, particularly in large ensemble settings, such as jazz big bands or in acoustic genres such as folk music. Some bassists, such as Jah Wobble, alternate between standing or seated playing. It is a matter of the player's preference as to which position gives the greatest ease of playing and what a bandleader expects. When sitting, right-handed players can balance the instrument on the right thigh or like classical guitar players, the left. When sitting, no strap is required. Balancing the bass on the left thigh usually positions it in such a way that it mimics the standing position, allowing for less difference between the standing and sitting positions. Balancing the bass on the right thigh provides better access to the neck and fretboard in its entirety, especially the lower-pitched frets.

The placement of the pickup greatly affects the sound, timbre and tone of the instrument. A pickup near the neck joint emphasizes the fundamental and low-order harmonics and thus produces a deeper, bassier sound, while a pickup near the bridge emphasizes higher-order harmonics and makes a "tighter" or "sharper" sound. Usually basses with multiple pickups allow blending of the output from the pickups, with electrical and acoustical interactions between the two pickups (such as partial phase cancellations) allowing a range of tonal and timbral effects.

There's no question about the importance of drums and percussion in music. If you're playing energetic songs for a live audience, it's the rhythm that'll get them moving and the drums have to create that rhythm. Even in more subtle, softer genres and styles, the right application of percussion sounds and effects goes an incredibly long way to setting mood and atmosphere. This isn't just the oldest instrument family on the stage: it just might be the most crucial one as well. Some of our top brands in this category are: Zildjian, Paiste, Meinl Percussion, Pearl, Remo,
These keyboards are perfect for any student, child to elder, who is interested in learning how to play piano. They are inexpensive, have built-in speakers so an extra amplifier isn’t necessary, and include multiple piano sounds and simulated acoustic-piano action (aka “key feel”). These keyboards are relatively light—all our picks weigh around 26 pounds—so it’s possible for one person to carry the piano when necessary.
First of all, it comes with 20 medium jumbo frets. Since the best bass quality can be found in the lower fret numbers, 20 will definitely give you what you seek. It comes with the single coil pickup lines; you get to have a focused as well as a bright sound. Though there will be a little bit of noise as is the case when it comes to the single-line pickups.

What started as a simple string and pedal sales catalog has grown exponentially over the past thirty years. The early days were a time where catalogs didn't have much of a presence in the industry, but what began as a college dorm room operation grew rapidly. In 1986 we moved to a full product offering and 64-page catalog, which over the years has grown to 162 pages. Join the AMS family and get your free catalog now!

No matter how you choose to distinguish yourself - acoustic-electric, custom, signature model, extended range or the tried-and-true standbys - one thing that will never change is that music is a personal thing. Only you can decide which bass guitar belongs onstage and in the studio with you, so you've got every reason to check out all the instruments here: chances are you'll know the right one when you find it.
Most basses have a volume potentiometer ("pot" or "knob"), which can be turned up or down, and a tone potentiometer, which rolls off the high frequencies when it is turned to the player's right. Some basses may also have a pickup selector control or switch, to select single-coil or humbucking pickups. Since the 1980s, basses are often available with battery-powered "active" electronics that boost the signal with a preamplifier and provide equalization controls to boost or cut bass and treble frequencies, or both. Some expensive basses have even more equalization options, such as bass, middle and treble.
In some cases, to play the bass through PA amplification, it is plugged into a direct box or DI, which routes the signal to the bass amp while also sending the signal directly into a mixing console, and thence to the main and monitor speakers. When a recording of bass is being made, engineers may use a microphone set up in front of the amplifier's speaker cabinet for the amplified signal, a direct box signal that feeds the recording console, or a mix of both.
Yet another form is the portable digital piano which is what appear to be combining the capabilities of stage pianos, but with additional features similar to a conventional digital keyboard. These digital pianos are mostly designed for various purposes such as home, studio, classroom, stage or personal use. It is similar in form to a stage piano, but much lighter in weight, and having a more compact size. Unlike stage pianos, portable digital pianos were commonly equipped with built-in amplification and loudspeakers, usually has lower cost than other types, and its sound quality were often comparable or similar to that of a regular digital keyboards due to a simpler sound synthesis system, though some models, still utilize a similar sound engine as the more advanced model lineups of the same manufacturer.
By World War I, drum kits were often marching band-style military bass drums with many percussion items suspended on and around them. Drum kits became a central part of jazz music, especially Dixieland. The modern drum kit was developed in the Vaudeville era during the 1920s in New Orleans.[11] In 1917, a New Orleans band called "The Original Dixieland Jazz Band " recorded jazz tunes that became hits all over the country. These were the first official jazz recordings. Drummers such as Baby Dodds, "Zutty" Singleton and Ray Bauduc had taken the idea of marching rhythms, combining the bass drum and snare drum and "traps", a term used to refer to the percussion instruments associated with immigrant groups, which included miniature cymbals, tom toms, cowbells and woodblocks. They started incorporating these elements with ragtime, which had been popular for a couple of decades, creating an approach which evolved into a jazz drumming style.
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Drummers' usage of electronic drum equipment can range from adding a single electronic pad to an acoustic kit (e.g., to have access to an instrument that might otherwise be impractical, such as a large gong), to using a mix of acoustic drums/cymbals and electronic pads, to using an acoustic kit in which the drums and cymbals have triggers, which can be used to sound electronic drums and other sounds, to having an exclusively electronic kit, which is often set up with the rubber or mesh drum pads and rubber "cymbals" in the usual drum kit locations. A fully electronic kit weighs much less and takes up less space to transport than an acoustic kit and it can be set up more quickly. One of the disadvantages of a fully electronic kit is that it may not have the same "feel" as an acoustic kit, and the drum sounds, even if they are high-quality samples, may not sound the same as acoustic drums.
There are several reasons for this division. When more than one band plays in a single performance, the drum kit is often considered part of the backline (the key rhythm section equipment that stays on stage all night, which often also includes bass amps and a stage piano), and is shared between/among the drummers. Oftentimes, the main "headlining" act will provide the drums, as they are being paid more, possibly have the better gear, and in any case have the prerogative of using their own. Sticks, snare drum and cymbals, and sometimes other components, are commonly swapped though, each drummer bringing their own. The term breakables in this context refers to whatever basic components the "guest" drummer is expected to bring. Similar considerations apply if using a "house kit" (a drum kit owned by the venue, which is rare), even if there is only one band at the performance.